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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 23-1356

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

ADAMS COUNTY

Rules of Civil Procedure; Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges; Administrative Order No. 14A of 2023

[53 Pa.B. 6167]
[Saturday, October 7, 2023]

Order of Court

 And Now, this 22nd day of September, 2023, after review of proposed Rules changes by the Pennsylvania State Rules Committee, Administrative Order 14 of 2023 issued on June 7, 2023 is hereby Vacated and the following new Order 14A of 2023 is Entered. It Is Ordered that the Adams County Rules of Civil Procedure 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906 are Hereby Rescinded and Replaced with the following rules:

ACTION PURSUANT TO PROTECTION FROM ABUSE ACT AND PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE OR INTIMIDATION ACT

Rule 1901. Statement of Policy.

 It is the purpose and policy of the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County to implement and effectuate the Protection From Abuse Act and the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act, to streamline and facilitate enforcement, and to eliminate procedural obstacles and limitations where justice requires forthright action on the part of law enforcement, the Magisterial District Judge and this Court.

 A. Actions for Protection From Abuse shall be commenced and prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of Pa.R.Civ.P. 1901, et seq. and 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6101 et seq. Actions for Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation shall be commenced and prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of Pa.R.Civ.P. 1951, et seq., and 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 62A01, et seq.

 B. Actions seeking emergency relief under the Protection From Abuse Act shall be commenced and prosecuted pursuant to the provisions of Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 1201 et seq., Adams County Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges 1203, 1210 and 1211, and 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6110 et seq.

 C. Actions seeking emergency relief under the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act shall be commenced and prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 1201, et seq., Adams County Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges 1203, 1210 and 1211, and 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 62A09, et seq.

Rule 1901.5. Indirect Criminal Contempt Hearing.

 A. Arrest. When the Court is available, a defendant arrested for contempt shall be produced without unnecessary delay before a judge for preliminary arraignment. If arrest occurs when the Court is unavailable, the defendant shall have preliminary arraignment before the on-call Magisterial District Judge. Upon request, defendant shall be provided with an application form for the appointment of a lawyer. Unless scheduled by a court order for a different time, contempt hearings shall be scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on the Wednesday following preliminary arraignment which is the furthest Wednesday within ten (10) calendar days after the defendant's arrest. Bail shall be set by the Magisterial District Judge with the defendant given an opportunity to post bail. The bail may be subject to special conditions, such as requiring defendant to follow all specified conditions contained in the Protection From Abuse Order.

 At the preliminary arraignment, the Magisterial District Judge or Common Pleas Judge shall advise the defendant of the following:

 1. A description of the alleged contemptuous acts;

 2. That those acts violate a specific Order of Court;

 3. Defendant is subject because of the alleged contempt to a prison sentence of six (6) months and a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00);

 4. A hearing will be held by a judge on a specified court business day at 1:00 p.m.;

 5. Defendant is entitled to be represented by a lawyer in the contempt proceeding and that, if defendant qualifies, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him or her free of charge. The defendant shall be notified that he or she must apply for the appointment of a free counsel, and the Magisterial District Judge shall provide an application form upon request.

 B. Private Complaint.

 1. Plaintiff may file a private criminal complaint pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6113.1 by filing the complaint in the Prothonotary's Office. The Prothonotary's Office shall, after clocking in the complaint, immediately forward it to the Court Administrator for the scheduling of a hearing. Except in unusual circumstances, hearings will be scheduled in the same manner as in arrest cases and shall be scheduled by court order. Service of the order, once entered, shall be made on the defendant by the Sheriff's Department. No answer shall be required by defendant.

 2. Contempt proceedings may be commenced by the filing of a criminal complaint before a Magisterial District Judge. Service shall be accomplished as in other criminal proceedings, by a constable, or police officer. If neither is available, the complaint shall be served by the Sheriff. Upon filing of a private complaint for criminal contempt in the office of a Magisterial District Judge, the Magisterial District Judge shall promptly forward the same to Court Administration who will schedule contempt hearing pursuant to paragraph B(1) above.

Rule 1905. Temporary Orders. Final Hearing. Forms and Notice.

 A. Temporary Orders

 1. If the petition seeks temporary relief for Protection From Abuse or Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation, and alleges immediate and present danger of abuse to the plaintiff and/or minor children, the petition shall be presented directly to the assigned PFA Judge after filing with the Prothonotary between the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. on days the Court of Common Pleas is open for business.

 2. The PFA Judge will, at the earliest possible time consistent with his/her schedule, conduct an ex parte temporary hearing with the plaintiff.

 3. The PFA Judge shall enter such temporary order, as it deems necessary, to protect the plaintiff and/or minor child(ren) pending final hearing on the petition.

 B. Final Hearing

 Within ten (10) business days of the filing of a petition for Protection From Abuse or a petition for Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation, or the granting of a temporary order, a final hearing shall be scheduled following Adams County Court administrative rules and policy.

 C. Forms and Notice

 1. All forms for use in the Protection From Abuse action and the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation action including notice, petition, temporary protection order and final protection order shall be substantially in the form set forth in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1905 and Pa.R.Civ.P. 1959.

 2. If the Magisterial District Judge enters an emergency order, service of the order of protection and emergency petition upon the defendant shall occur in accordance with Pa.R.Civ.P.M.D.J. 1209.

 3. If the PFA Judge enters a temporary order, service of the petition and temporary order upon the defendant shall be in accordance with Pa.R.Civ.P. 1930.4. An affidavit of service substantially in the form set forth in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1905(d) shall be filed with the Prothonotary.

 It is further Ordered that the Adams County Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges are hereby created, and the following Rules enacted:

ACTIONS FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE RELIEF

Rule 1203. Limitation on Jurisdiction.

 Emergency orders for protection pursuant to either the Protection From Abuse Act or Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act may be issued by a Magisterial District Judge at the following times:

 A. on Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on the next day the Court of Common Pleas is open for business;

 B. during weekend periods, from 3:30 p.m. on Friday (or otherwise, 3:30 p.m. on the last day of the week on which the Court of Common Pleas is open for business) to 8:00 a.m. on the next day the Court of Common Pleas is open for business; and

 C. during any holiday and at any other time that all Judges are declared to be unavailable, or the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County is not open for business by Administrative Order entered by the President Judge.

Rule 1210. Duration of Emergency Protection Orders.

 If an emergency order of protection has issued pursuant to either the Protection From Abuse Act or Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act, the plaintiff shall be informed of the following:

 A. that the Magisterial District Judge's emergency order will expire at the close of the next Court of Common Pleas business day and, that a further temporary order may be issued only by a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County;

 B. if the plaintiff seeks the issuance of a temporary order, on the next Court of Common Pleas business day, the Plaintiff shall prepare and file a petition in the form required by the Rules of Civil Procedure and shall appear before a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

 C. if the plaintiff requests the issuance of a temporary order, the next business day in the Court of Common Pleas, a Judge will, at the earliest possible time consistent with his/her schedule, conduct an ex parte temporary hearing with the plaintiff.

Rule 1211. Certification to Court of Common Pleas.

 A certification of the Magisterial District Judge's record for emergency order shall be forwarded to Court Administration by 8:30 a.m. the next business day, who shall immediately file the record with the Prothonotary's Office so that the record is available to the Court of Common Pleas.

 These rules shall become effective after all the provisions of the Pennsylvania Rules of Judicial Administration 103 are met, to include the following:

 1. A certified copy of this Order shall be submitted to the Civil Procedural Rules Committee for review.

 2. Upon receipt of a statement from the Civil Procedural Rules Committee that the local rules are not inconsistent with any general rule of the Supreme Court, two (2) certified copies of this Order together with a computer diskette that complies with the requirement of 1 Pa. Code § 13.11(b), or other compliant format, containing the text of the local rule(s) adopted hereby shall be distributed to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 3. One (1) certified copy of this Order shall be forwarded to the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts.

 4. A copy of the proposed local rules shall be published on the 51st Judicial District website.

 5. This Order shall be filed in the Office of the Prothonotary of Adams County and a copy thereof shall be filed with the Adams County Clerk of Courts and the Adams County Law Library for inspection and copying.

 6. The effective date of the local rules shall be thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

MICHAEL A. GEORGE, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 23-1356. Filed for public inspection October 6, 2023, 9:00 a.m.]


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